Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008 - (Page 32)

sustainably by implementing low-impact land development and innovative water reuse and stormwater management practices. Scenically located 200 feet above the Truckee River, the course is in view of two different mountain ranges. The Northstar At Tahoe Ski Resort can be seen across the way from some of its holes. Aided by its gently rolling terrain, planners studied the topography to discover the best way to locate the course, while minimizing the clearing process and excavation. Instead of clear-cutting the land, they took a more surgical approach, according to Joel Blaker, director of agronomy for Tahoe Mountain Club which includes Old Greenwood, LLC. “It was fairly unique. In the past, it has been a logging operation which would leave very few trees or natural plants,” he said. Instead, a route for the golf course was chosen and the center of each fairway was staked out. Incrementally, one hole at a time, they’d clear 60 percent of the vegetation, then Nicklaus and his crew would visit to review the site to make the final recommendations that are necessary to accommodate each tee, fairway and hole. “When it was all said and done, it looked like the golf hole was placed in a natural forest. The tree lines were right on the grass. The sage was right off the turf areas. There weren’t expansive areas that were cleared for no reason,” Blaker said. “If you look at the golf course now, it looks like it’s been there for 100 years. It was just built five years ago.” The land was devoid of surface water before the development began. Today it features eight surface acres of water in a series of lakes and streams that are interconnected to hold stormwater and spring snow melt which is routed to an irrigation lake that services the course. Before the water enters these waterways, it first moves through a series of bioswales which provide natural filtration. Planners designed it so that a 100 year flood would be retained on site by the system. “We have some piping, but everything either goes to golf-course irrigation or to stormwater retention ponds,” Blaker said. “Nothing leaves the site.” Even the water used to wash equipment is reused. After being pumped from the irrigation lake and used, the water goes through a clarifier before being returned to the lake. “The local water district did not want us to do that,” Butterworth said. “We had to prove to them that the water would come out at drinking-water levels to allow it to happen.” There was also a plan to collect and reuse gray water, but because of the relatively flat terrain, the local sewer agency wouldn’t approve. The water was needed to get waste to the local sewage plant. In the end, approximately 300,000 cubic yards of earth was excavated for the project, a minimal amount for a golf course, according to Butterworth. Clustered structures The project’s commercial buildings and residences were laid out using the same, low-impact, land-development approach that followed the topography. “When we actually cut the roads in, it was a small amount of dirt movement,” Butterfield pointed out. “I think the total road earth movement was about 50,000 yards, not including the utility trenches.” Homes were clustered around the perimeter of the golf course, which resulted in a large amount of the property going undisturbed, while providing home owners with a truer sense of community. The Old Greenwood Design Review Board is responsible for approving home designs. Strict restrictions are in play to encourage homeowners to respect the land. The average lot size is 30,000 square feet, with a buildable area of 10,500 square feet, surrounded by setbacks of 20 feet to 30 feet. No turf is allowed. The landscaping around the buildings is native with drip irrigation. “Keep as much sagebrush as possible,” has been a motto, according to Butterworth. “As we go in to build a site, we try to disturb only the building footprint, usually six to eight feet outside of it. When we re-vegetate, we do native grasses, wildflowers, and primarily trees and shrubs so it’s all low impact,” he said. Circle 194 • or www.SLDTonline.com/webcard 32 September 2008 Sustainable Land Development Today http://aquashieldinc.com http://aquashieldinc.com http://www.SLDTonline.com/webcard

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008 Contents Our Voice The Bottomline Editorial Board SLDT Resources Digging Deep Oases of Capital Build a Better Business on an Interactive, Virtual Landscape Regulation SLDI in Focus �� SLDI Sponsored Summit �� Workshops �� Bookstore Tee’d Up for Sustainability Retention Solutions Wastewater Redevelopment Industry News Marketplace Products/Services Showcase Advertiser Index The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2008

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